As Bitcoin prices double, so should our vigilance. Mobile phones have become a major security risk

As the price of bitcoin skyrocketed, the bitcoin community, especially on Reddit, sounded a note of caution, warning new bitcoin users to be wary of leaving their funds on exchanges.

The call is to guard against all possible security challenges. As the value of Bitcoin increases, the number of Bitcoin users will increase, which also means that hackers will have a greater incentive to attack and steal Bitcoin wallets.

Keep your accounts and devices secure

High-risk accounts that rely on SMS codes, such as email, banks, and exchanges, are very tricky to access, especially since incidents of social engineering attacks have increased significantly recently.

For example, Shen Bo, the founder of Distributed Capital, lost nearly $300,000 in his ETH and Ripple accounts after being hacked. It has been confirmed that the codes of mobile phone accounts can be stolen by intruders.

Now the question is: what is the best way to keep your devices secure? In other words, if you don’t have or don’t want to use a hardware wallet, how do you protect your Bitcoin?

From Google Authenticator to two-factor authentication 2FA, the road to wallet security has not been so peaceful. There are always intruders waiting to break into your wallet and sweep it away. According to previous reports, more than one million US dollars of Bitcoin has been lost through mobile phones.

On Reddit, some people suggested that cheap phones that aren't tied to an IRL identity might be more secure, while others suggested using two Yubikeys (a small USB device used primarily for secondary authentication) would be enough.

Backup Code and Paper Wallet

You can also use the method we have already used before: store the backup code in a safe place. Or find a paper wallet with public and private keys written on it.

Jack Peterson, a core developer of the blockchain platform Augur, offered a suggestion:

"I think the most important thing is to make sure your email password can't be bypassed from your phone. For example, if you use Gmail, make sure your account doesn't have a phone number set up for password recovery!"

Alejandro de la Torre from the BTC.com business development team recommends using a known third-party 2FA tool such as authy instead of 2FA using SMS codes, which is already available in some bitcoin wallets.